It is with little doubt every homeowner has received their annual property tax bill from the San Mateo County Tax Collector, Lee Buffington. It is with even lesser doubt the tax amount was for more than last year. If you purchased a home this year and are amazed with how little the amount is, stay that way as Mr. Buffington will catch up with you in the form of a supplemental tax bill based of 1.02% of whatever you paid for your home.
I too have received my tax bill without a lot of surprises since I’ve owned my home for a while and have grown accustomed to the maximum 2% annual rise in my assessed valuation. What does surprise me is how little I knew of how the various assessments are delineated and how the city’s share of property tax dollars flows into our coffers. I should know this since I am one of the 5 people who represent your best interest in how the incoming tax dollars are spent.
Knowing it is a good thing for me to thoroughly understand my tax bill, I went to the one person I know who can simplify anything and who I might add is very gifted at explaining things in layman’s terms, Jim Hardy our City Manager.
We began my tutorage with the right hand column of my tax bill under “ASSESSMENT INFORMATION”. Land, Improvements, Fixtures and Personal Property comprise the total assessed value of the property.
The original assessed value was established as of 1978 when Proposition 13 passed or was established as the purchase price if the property was bought after 1978. Thereafter, the assessed value can be increased a maximum of 2% per year. Homeowners can claim a $7,000 exemption that reduces the total assessed value and in turn reduces the total taxes due by about $75. Still with me? Good, I spent a lot of time writing this article.
The lower part of the right hand side of the tax bill reflects the TAXING AGENCY who receives a percentage of every tax dollar, the RATE is what portion they receive and the AMOUNT reflects how many of your tax dollars they actually receive. I thought this would be the hard part of my learning but true to form Jim Hardy explained it so that even I could understand.
The GENERAL TAX RATE is 1% based on Proposition 13. This money goes to the Estero Municipal Improvement District (just think of the EMID as Foster City) for city services such as police, fire, and for parks, streets and lagoons which comprise our infrastructure. It also goes to the County of San Mateo who funds the courts, the jail, county parks and roads amongst other essential services. It also goes to the three public school districts serving Foster City (elementary, high school and community college). Of every total tax dollar collected, approximately 26 cents goes to the Estero District, 26 cents goes to the County of San Mateo and 48 cents goes to the three school districts.
Beneath the General Tax Rate are the three school districts we also fund via voter approved capital improvement bonds where the bond repayment is based on assessed valuation. Next comes the GENERAL TAX TOTAL which is the sum of the taxes due based on the GENERAL TAX RATE and the school bonds, minus the EXEMPTION I mentioned earlier to arrive at the sub-Total.
Now this is almost everything you pay in property taxes except for special assessments (e.g., the voter-approved parcel tax to augment the elementary school district budget), some minor fees like mosquito abatement (I’ll pay this one any day), and storm water to prevent pollution (you’ve seen the blue stencil warning advisements by storm drains saying everything leads to the bay). Add these special assessments to the sub-total and now you have the Total Tax payable. So there you have it.
I did leave out one line which Jim and I would proudly point is missing. For the first time in almost 40 years since the original EMID bonds were sold, the EMID special assessments no longer appear on the property tax bill as EMID has collected sufficient funds to fully pay off the remaining Estero bonds. This was made possible by good leadership and decisions made by Jim Hardy, his predecessor Rick Wykoff, and our past City Councils.
I hope to see you at my Sunday meetings between 3:00 P.M. and 5:00 P.M at the Council Chambers. You can stop by and ask questions, voice concerns or discuss any matter you have on your mind.
If you have any questions or remarks you wish heard before then please feel free to call me at 650-286-3504 or e-mail me at jkiramis@fostercity.org.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve you.
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